The Myth of American Diplomacy
eBook - PDF

The Myth of American Diplomacy

National Identity and U.S. Foreign Policy

  1. 392 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

The Myth of American Diplomacy

National Identity and U.S. Foreign Policy

About this book

In this major reconceptualization of the history of U.S. foreign policy, Walter Hixson engages with the entire sweep of that history, from its Puritan beginnings to the twenty-first century's war on terror. He contends that a mythical national identity, which includes the notion of American moral superiority and the duty to protect all of humanity, has had remarkable continuity through the centuries, repeatedly propelling America into war against an endless series of external enemies. As this myth has supported violence, violence in turn has supported the myth.

The Myth of American Diplomacyshows the deep connections between American foreign policy and the domestic culture from which it springs. Hixson investigates the national narratives that help to explain ethnic cleansing of Indians, nineteenth-century imperial thrusts in Mexico and the Philippines, the two World Wars, the Cold War, the Iraq War, and today's war on terror. He examines the discourses within America that have continuously inspired what he calls our "pathologically violent foreign policy." The presumption that, as an exceptionally virtuous nation, the United States possesses a special right to exert power only encourages violence, Hixson concludes, and he suggests some fruitful ways to redirect foreign policy toward a more just and peaceful world.

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Yes, you can access The Myth of American Diplomacy by Walter L. Hixson in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & North American History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Table of contents

  1. Contents
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. Introduction
  4. Chapter 1. Birth of a Nation
  5. Chapter 2. The White Man’s Continent
  6. Chapter 3. Reunite and Conquer
  7. Chapter 4. Imperial Crises
  8. Chapter 5. Choosing War
  9. Chapter 6. Wars Good and Cold
  10. Chapter 7. Militarization and Countersubversion
  11. Chapter 8. Neocolonial Nightmares
  12. Chapter 9. Patriotic Revival
  13. Chapter 10. September 11 and the Global Crusade
  14. Conclusion
  15. Appendix A. Discourse and Disciplinary Knowledge
  16. Appendix B. Gramscian Cultural Hegemony
  17. Appendix C. Postmodernism
  18. Appendix D. Identity and Lacanian Psychoanalytic Theory
  19. Notes
  20. Works Cited
  21. Index